Preventing Bias on Twitter

Elon Musk is the CEO of Tesla and is a popular leader in the EV space. He is active on Twitter but has made some controversial tweets in the past. One came when he stated that he was going to take Tesla private at $420 per share (an inside joke later revealed to be made for his much younger girlfriend at the time Ms. Grimes). Another came when he called Thailand cave diving hero Vern Unsworth “pedo guy” and was subsequently sued for defamation. Another came recently when Musk said that “the coronavirus panic is dumb” (Stewart, 2020). Musk tends to present information in cavalier ways, often trying to appear humorous to a younger generation of stakeholders who tend to idolize him.

Any bias presented by Musk is towards those who do not heap adulation and praise upon him. He subtly attacked Bill Gates after Gates’ opinion contradicted his own with regards to the coronavirus outbreak. Gates attacked Unsworth on Twitter after Unsworth failed to show gratitude to Musk for the submarine the CEO built to help with Vern’s cave diving mission. Musk has attacked the coronavirus panic as “dumb” because it goes against his own need to keep his factories open and his businesses going.

In order to prevent the kind of self-centered bias that Musk displays, the strategy to employ is that recommended by Marofsky et al. (1991): a person using social networking must reexamine his own thinking about “us” and “them.” To prevent self-bias and stereotyping of others, it is necessary to look at one’s own views about how one sees oneself and how one sees others. Instead of thinking that everyone else is “out to get you” a person has to believe that everyone is inherently good and should refrain from judging anyone’s intentions. At the same time, one should refrain from attacking others or adopting a defensive position the way Musk does when he feels insecure or that he is not getting the praise from others he feels he deserves.

References

Marofsky, M., Grote, K. (Writers), Christiansen, L., Dean, W. (Directors), Christiansen, L., &Hommeyer, T (Producers).  (1991). Understanding our biases and assumptions [Video file]. Retrieved from Films on Demand database.

Stewart, E. (2020). Elon Musk’s coronavirus journey: A timeline. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/3/19/21185417/elon-musk-coronavirus-tweets-panic-ventilators-chloroquine-tesla-factory